Description

Criminals frequently misuse offshore banking facilities and legal entities to hide their profits and distance themselves from the beneficial ownership of criminal assets. This programme covers techniques used to hide proceeds using offshore structures and how to gain evidence from overseas jurisdictions through mutual legal assistance (MLA).

Participants work in groups to investigate a complex simulated asset tracing investigation involving the layering of offshore structures. This course has two separate simulated cases. In the first case, the Director of Procurement for the Ministry of Internal Development launders proceeds of international bribery through a bank account and acquires assets in a foreign jurisdiction. Participants use informal and formal means of international cooperation to secure evidence and recover assets. At the end of the case, the participants must draft a formal MLA request.

In the second case, the Deputy Director of Procurement in the country’s Infrastructure Agency sets up various corporate structures in offshore and tax haven jurisdictions. During the investigation, the participants are exposed to the features of structures like trusts and offshore companies, including the role of corporate service providers, nominee directors and registered agents. Participants use their laws to secure evidence and recover assets hidden outside their jurisdiction.

Lectures, a workshop on successful MLA requests and an interactive analysis of MLA best practice provide participants with the skills and knowledge to complete the investigation.

Participants learn to:

• Investigate complex legal structures used by criminals to hide illegal proceeds, such as trusts, offshore companies and offshore banks.
• Unravel the beneficial ownership of trusts and corporate entities.
• Follow leads to gather various types of evidence.
• Prepare a request for MLA.

In their own words

“I found the material on offshore companies and commercial transactions to be excellent. It will allow me to make better progress on certain cases in my day-to-day work.”

“The course was eye-opening and highly instructive on creative ways to track money laundering offences in other jurisdictions.”

Interested in this training course for your government agency?

Learn more about the training programmes of our International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) and our uniquely effective approach.

For more information, contact training@baselgovernance.org.